TomTom opens up maps to developers

SAN FRANCISCO Mapping software company TomTom has made its vast mapping data available to apps developers, providing an alternative to companies that now use maps from Google Inc and Apple Inc.

Dutch-based TomTom, best-known for its car navigation systems, launched its location-based services platform on Thursday as it looks to compete in a crowded marketplace for Web and mobile maps.

The platform is available for free on a trial basis but developers have to pay if they use the data for commercial purposes.

The new service provides developers access to location and navigation data - including traffic management and routing - and can also be used for collecting location-based intelligence, said Peter Davie, director of product management licensing at TomTom.

Mapping has emerged as a critical application in the mobile computing economy, and TomTom has lagged in taking advantage of the smartphone revolution.

TomTom, the largest navigation device maker in Europe and one of the top three digital map makers globally, has been hurt as consumers increasingly opt for free or cheap navigation software available on smartphones and tablet computers.

The new cloud-based service is a first step in taking advantage of the huge opportunities in the sector, and TomTom says it has had a lot of inquiries from companies interested in using TomTom maps for location data.

(Reporting by Poornima Gupta; Editing by Gary Hill)

Next In Technology News

MUMBAI Fugitive Indian businessman Vijay Mallya said on Friday that his Twitter account had been penetrated by a hacking group called Legion, which posted links to what it alleged were details of Mallya's bank accounts, offshore investments and luxury cars.

FRANKFURT Technical trade secrets were stolen from the steel production and manufacturing plant design divisions of ThyssenKrupp AG in cyber attacks earlier this year, the German company said on Thursday.

Trending Stories

Sponsored Topics

Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products: